Westerners rise to top at Amateur

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This article was published 13/08/2011 (5510 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A highly focused 17-year-old and a more seasoned player with some international experience — both with important wins on their resumes this year — share the lead headed for the weekend at the Canadian Men’s Amateur Golf Championship.

Spruce Grove, Alta.’s Wilson Bateman, the Alberta Junior champ, and Victoria’s Cory Renfrew, the B.C. mid-amateur winner, reached seven-under-par 135 through two days of play at Niakwa Country Club and Elmhurst Golf and Country Club.

They’ll be together for today’s third round with defending champion Albin Choi of Toronto, who’s just one shot back after a bogey-free 67 at Niakwa on Friday.

Choi shares third at six-under with first-round leader T.J. Bordeaux of Tacoma, Wash.

“This feels great,” Bateman said after his 67 at Niakwa on Friday. “It’s been a long time coming the last couple of years, a lot of losses and seconds and thirds. It feels good to be in the lead here.

“It’s a big tournament for me.”

Bateman, who has also won a pair of Future Links events this season, actually had the lead by himself walking down the 18th fairway, but he missed a five-foot par putt.

“I know there’s so much room right but what do I do, of course I hit it left,” he said. “I found my ball, chipped out and hit a good shot in there. I wanted to make that putt, thought it was going to break a little to the left, but I lipped out. Four-under and I bogey 18, but that’s OK, there’s always tomorrow and Sunday.”

Bateman, who is headed to San Diego State this fall, is a member of Golf Canada’s development team. He has spent the last two winters in Florida, working on his golf under teacher Sean Foley and doing his schooling online.

“My dad gave me that opportunity to be there and if I didn’t have that opportunity, I probably wouldn’t even be here right now,” he said. “I could be middle of the pack, but definitely not leading.”

Renfrew, 25, is currently working at Cordova Bay and has also previously won Golf Canada’s university and college championship.

He’s been a top-five player at the B.C. Amateur in the last two years and played for Canada in Mexico last season.

“I’m definitely excited,” Renfrew said after a 68 at Elmhurst on Friday, a round that saw him finish with a flourish. He birdied four of the final five holes.

“This is kind of my first one being in contention. I’m just looking forward to playing one hole at a time.”

Renfrew expects to be thinking of his B.C. mid-am win over the next few days.

“You can draw on those experiences, those feelings coming down the homestretch at that tournament,” he said. “I can remember that I came through in those situations.”

He finished on Elmhurst’s front nine with birdie putts of 10 feet at No. 7, five feet at No. 8 and a two-putt from the fringe on the par-5 ninth.

“It was tough out there, really windy, so I was concentrating on good tee shots and middle of the greens,” he said.

Bordeaux bogeyed the 18th at Elmhurst Friday for a even-par 71, otherwise he’d be sharing the lead.

And Choi could be there as well, making just four birdies after essentially hitting 17 greens Friday at Niakwa.

“You can’t make them all,” Choi said. “I’m still in the process of getting used to these greens.”

He said it was his chipping, not putting, that would get some work after Friday’s fine round.

“You’ve got to work on your short game in case you start missing some greens,” he said. “If you hit greens, you don’t get to chip a lot and your feel starts to slide away. The more greens you hit, the more (practice) chips you should hit.”

Choi said ball positioning and putting are going to be factors on the weekend.

“This golf course, if you can hit it straight, get the ball rolling pretty good, a good number’s out there,” he said. “You can’t just blast it everywhere, you have to position your shots.

“It’s a long week, still two rounds to play. Winning it last year kind of helps. I know I’m in good position. I just have to keep doing what I’m doing.”

Seventy-two players made the weekend at four-over and better.

Niakwa’s Todd Fanning, who was in the top 10 at two-under after Round 1, struggled to a 75 at Elmhurst and was one of three Manitobans to qualify for the final 36 holes.

Eight Canadians were in the top 10 after the first 36 holes.

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca

Leaderboard

Canadian Amateur at Niakwa, Elmhurst

Through 36 holes

Cory Renfrew -7

Wilson Bateman -7

T.J. Bordeaux -6

Albin Choi -6

Jacob Patte -5

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